William E. Smith wrote:
>
> Steve,
> Yesterday I was playing around in the garage with the HW-9 and small loop
> antenna stapled to the underside of the garage eaves. After calling CQ a
> couple of times, I thought I may have heard someone in there very weak.
> After a QRZ?, sure enough there you were. I didn't have my earphones with
> me in the garage so the HW-9's matching speaker had to suffice. I asked
> for repeats of your QTH because I wasn't sure I had copied "In a snow
> cave" correctly. There was QSB on you and your signal ranged from 449 to
> 339. Also I had to run a couple of QRO guys off that just started calling
> on freq. But I would say we had a pretty good QSO.
>
> To tell you the truth, I got pretty excited about it.A two way QRP QSO
> between a guy sitting or more likely laying in a snow cave in the
> Colorado mountains and a guy in the in his garage on a makeshift antenna
> in the middle of the Mojave Desert doesn't happen every day. This will go
> down in the log as one of my most memorable QSO's
>
> Thanks - My QSL is on the way.
>
> Bill WA6YPE
> Newberry Springs, CA
Hi Bill,
Wow was I glad to finally work someone!!!! After I called stns and CQ
till I was blue in the face or was blue in the fingers and feet....25
degs F in the snow cave. Arrived on at the saddle on Walton Mtn. about 3
miles from Rabbit Ears Pass near Steamboat Springs, Colorado Saturday
PM...we forgot the tent poles so we were forced to build the snow
shelter...pronto! Sunday...I put up the ant(inverted vee for 40m) about
30' up on this pine tree....setup my OHR Explorer II...Then the big
test!...would everything work? Keyed the rig and tuned the ant...power
was moving the SWR mtr so must have a sig going to the
antenna-Right??...but no contacts humph!...NOTHING till I change the
direction of the antenna 90 degrees It was faceing NS...changed it to EW
maybe more SW/NE anyway thats when we hooked up! I realized it's alot of
damn work to make contacts via QRP...QRP ain't for the "GIVER-UPPER"
types or faint of heart cuz you really have to want to dig in and work
at it!!! I called and recheck my hookup for 6 hrs before made a
contact!!... but it sure is worth it when you succeed!!! I called you
once before (I think) but I called so many I'm not sure...unbeliveable
when I realized you had seen my post or knew about it on the QRP-L!!
Really was the best QSO of my QRP/portable adventures!!! Regretfully I
only made 4 contacts before shuting down! but I sure improved my sending
speed via the old knee key calling so many stations w/no response...but
sure was great to listen to a noiseless band - NO manmade QRN!!! I'll
put this info on my webpage as soon as I get the pictures
together...I'll send a QSL via urs! and scan yours for my webpage and
include the story of Rocky Mountain Snowcave to Mojave Desert garage or
? QRP to QRP...I was runing less than a watt!!! maybe less cuz my
battery didn't like the cold...I used chemical hand warmers and wrapped
it in my sleeping bag to try keeping it warm...Talk about adverse
conditions!! we had great WX sunny but cold highs 32 degs spent alot of
time melting snow for drinking water...used a pint of fuel a day!...more
later on the webpage....Tks agn - Steve . .
My New Address: Just moved and I need to update the FCC...etc
1515 Owl Ridge Drive
Co Spgs, Colorado 80919
--------------------------------------------------------------------
portable/solar powered QRP QRP-L # 911
49er/HW8/ExplorerII/Zepp in attic @ CO SPGS,CO ARS# 206
http://www.webaccess.net/~S&P Steve-N0TU
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